Today Was Just Another Day
by Maybe a Lurker
Summary: There were rumors that a strange entity had been spotted in the forest. What could it be?


**Written to celebrate Fukase's 1st anniversary! (January 28, 2017)**

* * *

Recently, there had been rumors that an unnerving apparition had been spotted in the woods near a small logging town. This specter was said to cause a sudden drop in temperature and would follow around anyone until they left the forest. Nobody ever dared to stay long enough to find out what else it would do.

As such terrifying accounts were spread, the lumberjacks and townspeople refused to enter the forest again until the ghost was banished. Since firewood was unable to be harvested as no one dared to enter the woods, the town's livelihood had suffered. Thus, the townspeople have reluctantly decided to hire a paranormal investigator to sort out the disturbance.

A young man named Oliver was hired to investigate the forest in question and find a solution to end the abnormal activity. Although he had been a paranormal investigator for several years, he never saw anything that remotely resembled an apparition nor any strange phenomena. Even so, he still had hopes that he would find one eventually.

As instructed by his boss, Oliver was to report to the town's police office immediately once he arrived. It was a quaint little town with many log cabins and a few family owned stores. Within the vicinity of the village were copious amounts of trees. There were very few street lights and no signs of advanced technology – the place had a rather timeless feel to it.

As Oliver made his way to the police station, he felt some unwelcoming stares come from the residents. He had been told that the people of the town were untrusting of outsiders and that they were highly unlikely to give him any information on the ghost sightings. At that moment, he understood why he was coached to talk to the sheriff instead of interviewing the lumberjacks.

The sheriff's office was quite distinct as it was the only building in the entire village made of bricks. Oliver entered with hopes that he could obtain new information on the apparition. Inside the lobby of the office was a man in his late 40s smoking a cigar and lazily reading a newspaper. The man, which Oliver recognized as the sheriff from the badge, paid no attention to the guest and continued reading.

"H-hello? I'm Oliver, the investigator sent here to examine the recent paranormal sightings." Oliver hesitantly introduced himself as he wasn't sure if he was intruding.

"Ah, yes, the ghost catcher." The man was still fixated on the newspaper as he replied. He shortly put it down to have a good look at his visitor. "And I must say – aren't ya a _little_ too young to be doin' this job?"

"I'm nearly 27, sir, and I've been on the job for five years now." Oliver was perturbed by the blunt rudeness, but chose not to attend to the man's not-so subtle remark on his short stature.

"Right, right. Anyways, the name's Leon. Sheriff of this here town." The man exhaled a puff of smoke from his cigar. "Thanks fer reportin' in. I recon yer looking for more info on the ghost?"

Oliver fanned the smoke away from his face and nodded.

"Well, I got nothin'. Nothin' new at least." Leon answered quickly, as if he anticipated Oliver's response. "Kid, ain't no one else gone in the woods since ye old ghost been seen."

Oliver tried to hide his disappointment of the unhelpful news. "But can you confirm that the ghost has appeared at multiple times of the day at various locations? That it has no defined shape and appears like fog?" He questioned the sheriff to confirm the summary of the reports he read.

"Yes, an' I suggest ya head t'wards the loggin' site up the north as a start. Now git goin' kid." Leon took another puff of his cigar and went back to reading.

Oliver was disgruntled as he left the building. He had no new leads to finding the supposed apparition, and the case started to appear to be another hoax since all he had were vague reports. Still, he wanted to stay optimistic so he shook off his doubts and went towards the logging site, as Leon had suggested.

The northern part of town had a few large empty wagons, which Oliver presumed were for carrying harvested wood. A multitude of other rustic abandoned equipment were lying about in the shallow parts of the northern forest.

During daytime, sparse beams of sunlight penetrated through the trees, but it was enough for Oliver to see ahead clearly. He decided not to use a flashlight, and instead took out the camera from his backpack in case anything unusual appeared. According to the reports, there were a few sightings of the specter in broad daylight. Even so, no one was able to ascertain the apparition's form; Oliver was motivated to find the ethereal being and capture it on film.

He filmed his expedition as he moved along to the deeper parts of the woods, where he anticipated was a more likely place for paranormal activity. For what seemed like an eternity, nothing out of the ordinary occurred and it was more like a brisk walk through the woods. Even though he was searching for paranormal activity, Oliver never really felt like he was in danger.

Oliver needed a respite from his unsuccessful pursuit and wanted to briefly review the footage. As he sat down on a tree stump, he noticed an opaque object that protruded from the dirt nearby. Once he pulled it out and brushed off the dirt, it was undoubtedly a bone: it was long, thin, and about ten inches in length. Oliver wondered what sort of creature it belonged to, but he had no time to ponder on the possibilities. He felt a chill down his spine as if he were being watched.

The next moment, a loud rustling noise came from the bushes behind him, so he backed away and steadied his camera. The day had been uneventful, and this was the first instance Oliver was alerted from a potential threat. Part of him wanted to run away, but he knew he had to investigate the source of the abnormality. His palms became sweaty from apprehension as he waited to see what would emerge from the bushes.

When the rustling had stopped, a child about twelve years old came into view. The boy had messy red hair, sickly pale skin, and burn marks on the left side of his face. When he saw Oliver, he hid himself behind a tree. Every few seconds, he peeked out from it to see if Oliver had left yet.

Oliver sighed of relief that it was only a child; at the same time, he was also discontented that it wasn't the rumored apparition. Overall, he felt slightly embarrassed to have got so worked up over a child. He wondered why a child would be alone in the deeper regions of the woods and decided it was best to take him back to the village.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you." Oliver softened his voice to coax the boy from his hiding spot.

The timid boy did not respond and only stood still behind the tree.

After a minute or so of quietness, Oliver approached the boy slowly as to not scare him away. When he reached the tree, he knelt to bring himself to eye level with the child.

It had become even more apparent that the boy was frightened as he stood paralyzed in fear. He trembled and closed his eyes when Oliver had come close.

"There's nothing to be afraid of." Oliver softly whispered and gently stroked the child's hair.

At the comforting gesture, the boy became more at ease and slowly opened his eyes. He was promptly greeted by Oliver's warm smile to which he smiled back at.

"My name is Oliver. What's your name?" Oliver asked after he felt the tension had dissolved.

"F-Fukase." The boy answered hesitantly as though he had not said his name in years.

"Fukase, the forest is a dangerous place for a young child to be in." Oliver began in a calming but stern voice. "I'll bring you back home where it's safe."

Fukase shook his head in a hurried manner. "N-no…please I don't wanna go." He gripped the older male's sleeve as if he was being taken away.

Oliver sighed with contemplation – it would be difficult to continue his investigation with Fukase tagging along, but it would also be unpleasant to forcibly bring him to the town. There was already a sense of mistrust from the villagers, and he didn't want to make matters worse so he decided to look after Fukase. He figured that the boy would eventually get tired and want to return home.

For the next couple of hours, the two walked through the deeper areas of the forest. Oliver didn't want to tell Fukase about his search, so instead, he said he was looking for forest animals. He was unsure of what he would do if any apparitions did appear, but keeping the child safe became his priority.

Throughout the excursion, Fukase constantly stayed close to Oliver and never complained about being tired. He was a rather quiet, well-mannered child.

Despite the silence, Oliver was somewhat glad to have company as he went on this uneventful expedition. He was, however, worried about what circumstances led to Fukase wandering the woods alone. Even in broad daylight, there was still the possibility of danger lurking around. Oliver found it suspicious that no one was searching for Fukase, which made him speculate that perhaps the boy was abandoned. He brushed aside those doubts and hoped to get some answers later in the day.

After an ineffective investigation, Oliver decided they should take a lunch break. The two sat down on a felled tree as Oliver rummaged through his backpack for food. He internally cursed himself for his bad eating habits as he packed only an apple and a few candy bars.

"Sorry, this is all I have." Oliver gave the boy half of the apple and a chocolate bar.

"It's okay, I love apples!" Fukase said as he happily took a bite out of the apple. "But what is that?" He stared curiously at the bar of chocolate.

"You've never had chocolate before?" Oliver chuckled as he unwrapped the chocolate and broke off a piece for Fukase.

"It's tasty!" Fukase grinned with chocolate smeared on his mouth.

Oliver giggled and took out a handkerchief to wipe off the smudges. His worries were put at ease with the boy's carefreeness.

Soon after, Fukase said he was sleepy from the journey and fell asleep on Oliver's lap. Oliver was tired as well, and he soon found himself dozing off.

A few hours later, Oliver woke up to pitch darkness; he wondered how he could sleep long enough for night to fall. He took out his flashlight, and to his dismay, he saw that Fukase was gone. He did a thorough search of nearby areas, but there was absolutely no trace of the boy. Oliver called out to him, but there was no response. A sense of panic filled his mind as he worried over what happened during his nap. He realized there was nothing he could do, so he gravely hoped that perhaps Fukase went home on his own.

Since it was night, Oliver figured he would have better chances of finding paranormal activity, so he continued his pursuit. The forest had a vastly different atmosphere at night that made it seem tranquil, yet threatening. Even so, Oliver was undeterred from his investigation.

After wandering around in the darkness, he came across an open area. The trees were scattered more sparsely in the area, and in the center was a mound. Oliver approached the mound that appeared to have been recently unearthed. He noticed a child's skull was in it, and almost immediately, the information clicked together to form a coherent story.

The reports of the hauntings were made recently, and the mound was likely dug up recently. The timing was no mere coincidence, and he knew disturbing the dead would most certainly cause problems. At that moment, he remembered the bone he had found earlier in the day and took it out of his backpack. He placed it back into the mound with the rest of the remains.

Suddenly, a familiar voice was heard. "Oliver?"

Oliver turned around and saw that it was Fukase, but he was transparent. "Fukase? This is…" He glanced over at the remains and couldn't complete his inquiry.

Fukase nodded. "Yes, that was me." He answered the question Oliver couldn't finish. "Thank you for bringing it back, I'm really happy. I'd hate to ask this, but could you do one more favor for me?"

"P-please, don't hesitate." Oliver had difficulty processing the situation.

"Could you…please visit me again on my birthday?" Fukase averted his gazed as he asked. "It's on January 28th…"

January 28th – that was a week from today. "I'll definitely visit you. Don't worry!" Oliver answered with cheerful determination.

"Thanks, I'm glad." Fukase smiled sweetly and slowly started to fade away. "You're a good friend, Oliver." He waved good-bye and vanished from view.

Oliver still had so many questions about Fukase and his story. He figured he should ask Leon about him in the morning. For now, he made his way back into the outskirts of town and set up camp for the night. Many thoughts and concerns raced through his mind and he had difficulty sleeping.

The next morning, Oliver went right to the police station to inquire about and report his findings. As if right on cue, Leon welcomed Oliver in for a cup of coffee.

"Before I tell you what I've found, I have a few questions." Oliver sternly stated as he seated himself in one of the office chairs. "Do you know anything about a red-haired boy named Fukase?"

Leon raised his eyebrow in suspicion. "Fukase? Oh, ya mean that boy from the urban legend?"

"Urban legend?" Oliver asked with curiosity. "I don't know of it."

"Ah, well git comfy 'cause this old man gonna tell ya a story." Leon took a sip of his coffee and cleared his throat.

The story Leon told had taken place a few hundred years ago. A boy named Fukase had his home burnt down by villagers that thought he was a demon. He managed to escape into the woods but struggled to survive in the cold with limited food. A friendly woodcutter pitied him and brought him some food and clothes. The two became good friends, and the woodcutter would visit Fukase daily and bring him food, namely apples. It was thanks to the woodcutter that the boy lived for a few years after the incident. The woodcutter had plans to bring the boy back into the village on his birthday, but illness took the man's life before it was possible. In the cold and without anything to eat, Fukase eventually passed away as well.

Oliver had a look of anguish as Leon concluded the story. He felt a slight pain in his stomach; he felt sympathy for Fukase as the child waited all those years for his friend.

"Ya found the boy, haven't ya?" Leon gave Oliver a slight smile. "Your eyes say it all, kiddo." He explained as though he predicted the younger male would inquire.

"Yes, his burial mound was dug up so his spirit had been on the loose lately." Oliver paused before he earnestly begged. "But he's not a bad child! He only wanted some solace."

"Heh, alright. Ya done a good job, kid. Be proud of that." Leon patted Oliver on the back, like a child in need of reassurance.

Oliver explained that he needed to be back next week to honor his promise, but otherwise his work here was done. He also requested to halt all logging activities near the burial so as to not disturb Fukase's resting place. Leon assured the younger male that everything will be okay.

* * *

The remainder of the week had passed by rather uneventfully – no new cases had been assigned to Oliver so he was stuck in his office. He had prepared some gifts for Fukase for the promised day and anxiously waited. He was truly looking forward to spending the day with his new friend, even if his friend was not physically there anymore.

When Oliver arrived at the town on January 28th, he was surprised to see that all the villagers were waiting for him. Apparently, Leon had told the residents about Oliver's promise and they all wanted to join him to honor Fukase's birthday. The townspeople worked together to craft a coffin so that Fukase would have a proper place to rest in. Oliver was overjoyed with everyone's kind gestures and led them to the open area where he found the remains.

Carefully, some of the residents cleared the mound and place the skeleton into the coffin. They then buried the coffin and placed their gifts nearby to complete the ceremony. The event was surreal and was like a mixture of a funeral and a birthday party, but overall, the atmosphere was friendly and inviting.

Oliver was glad that the townspeople had warmed up to him, but he was mostly happy that they genuinely cared for Fukase. They had decided on their own will to join him on this visit, after all. Oliver placed his present in front of the burial and smiled.

"Happy birthday, Fukase."


End file.
